The Cotswold Lion and the ‘Wool Churches’
- Jane's Felt
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
The UK has a very rich heritage of textile manufacture spanning thousands of years. There is archaeological evidence of spinning and weaving from the Neolithic period (4000-2500BC). Wool was the textile staple from the Roman period until the Middle Ages. The start of the Industrial Revolution in the mid Eighteenth century marked the beginning of wool’s decline due to the mass production of primarily cotton, but also silk.
Cotswold Wool
‘In Europe, the best wool is English and in England, the best wool is Cotswold.’ (12th century saying)
In 1964, a stone sheep’s head was found near St.Mary’s Church, Bibury, Gloucestershire. It resembled the modern Cotswold sheep, suggesting that this very distinctive Longwool breed was present in the area during the Roman occupation. Despite its long history, the Cotswold wool trade came to prominence in the Middle Ages. The monasteries were one of the largest landowners at the time (Cumbria was divided between the monasteries at Furness and Fountains. See below for pictures of Furness abbey as it is today https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/furness-abbey/) and reared enormous flocks of ‘golden haired’ sheep for their high quality wool. The Cotswolds were perfect for this native sheep which became known as the ‘Cotswold Lion.’ ‘Cotswolds’ comes from ‘Cot’ meaning a sheep pen or enclosure and ‘Wold’ meaning high open land or rolling hills (historically referring to wooded uplands). So the word means a‘sheep enclosure on rolling hillside.’ Sheep farmers in the Middle Ages became very wealthy exporting this ‘golden fleece,’ and with the monasteries owning many flocks, much of the income was spent on building churches. Rich merchants were keen to ensure their safe passage to heaven and would donate some of their profits towards building the ‘wool churches.’
These Wool Churches are common in the Cotswolds and in the ‘wool towns’ of East Anglia, where the enormous profits from the wool trade lead to the construction of ever grander churches. A wool church was often built to replace a smaller one to reflect the increased prosperity of its community. Many of them were the project of a few families in each town or village, who used the new church building to display their wealth, status and faith. The building of wool churches ended with the reformation and the simultaneous decline of the wool trade (1525-1600).
Examples of wool churches are:
Long Melford in Suffolk (https://www.longmelfordchurch.com). It was builds between 1467 and 1497, funded by local cloth merchants.
The church of St John the Baptist in Cirencester (https://cirenparish.co.uk/visit-the-parish/the-parish-church-of-st-john-baptist/)is the parish church for Cirencester in Gloucestershire and is nicknamed ‘The Cathedral of the Cotswolds.’ It is one of the largest parish churches in England.
St. Agnes church in Cawston, Norfolk https://st-agnes.org.uk, is also a wool church. The nave and western tower were funded by the Earl of Suffolk. The earl spared no expense in decorating the inside of this grand church built in a modest medieval village.
The village of Worstead in Norfolk (the original of the name is a farmstead or homestead), not only has a wool church, but gave its name to Worsted cloth. This is a high quality and robust wool cloth with a smooth surface. This is achieved by using long fibres that have been carded parallel and spun to remove the short fibres. This fabric is used in tailored suits, trousers and skirts due to its resilience and resistance to creasing.
The village church of St Mary’s (https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/5431/) was built by local weavers in the 14th century and towers over the village.
The city of Norwich has more medieval churches than anywhere else in Europe, all paid for by wool money. Norfolk wool was best suited to heavier cloth so Norwich and Norfolk eventually gained a monopoly on Worsted leading to this ecclesiastical building boom.
The native breed of Norfolk is the Norfolk Horn, one of the oldest breeds in Britain. It is thought to be descended from the ancient Saxon black faced sheep of Northern Europe. It was the prevalent breed of East Anglia. Their fine fleeces were used in the worsted industry upon which the region’s wealth was based. The popularity of the Norfolk Horn declined in the 18th century as Southdown sheep were introduced. Cross breeding lead to the development of the Suffolk sheep.
The most prosperous era was 1250-1350. Most of the wool was sold to Italian merchants
With the start of the Industrial Revolution, raw wool was no longer exported, but manufactured into cloth. The southern Stroud valley had more than 100 mills, of which only two remain. The Cotswold dyers learned to dye a notoriously difficult scarlet cloth, which became known as ‘Stroud Scarlet.’ It was used for military uniform until the late 19th century, giving rise to the term ‘redcoat.’
The Cotswold breed was improved in the 18th and 19th centuries by crossing with Leicester and Lincoln bloodlines to increase their size and the wool yield. Numbers declined in the 20th century, but the Rare Breeds Survival Trust now supports the breed’s conservation.
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